Self-Leveling Multi-Line Laser Device

ABSTRACT

A self-leveling multi-line laser device is disclosed. The multi-line laser device includes at least two laser beams and at least two reflecting cones, wherein the cone axes of the reflecting cones are perpendicular to each other and each of the laser beams can be directed, preferably eccentrically, parallel to the axis of one of the reflecting cones against the tip of said reflecting cone. With the multi-line laser device, at least two projectable laser lines can be generated.

This application is a continuation application of application Ser. No.13/260,449, filed on Dec. 23, 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,813,379), whichin turn is a 35 U.S.C. §371 National Stage Application ofPCT/EP2010/051213, filed Feb. 2, 2010, which in turn claims the benefitof priority to Application Serial No. DE 10 2009 001 878.6, filed onMar. 26, 2009 in Germany, the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

The disclosure relates to a self-leveling multi-line laser device forgenerating at least two, mutually perpendicular projectable laser lines.By means of such a device, by way of example, horizontal and verticalplanes can be spanned by respective one-dimensionally expanded laserbeams and horizontal and vertical lines can respectively be projectedfor example onto wall areas or objects. These projectable lines aredesignated henceforth as laser lines or projected laser lines of themulti-line laser device, although the device cannot produce these linesitself, but rather only by projection of the expanded laser beam onto awall or an object, for example.

Multi-line laser devices of this type can be used, in particular, inindustry, in the craft sector and do-it-yourself sector for example foradjustment, marking, measurement and alignment tasks.

Diverse two-line laser devices are known from the prior art, which canbe used to project two mutually perpendicular laser lines. In this case,either laser beams are expanded by lens elements in a plane, as a resultof which a respective laser line with a useable angular range ofapproximately 60° to 120° can be generated. Two of these laser lines canthus be provided by combination of two laser beams and two lens elementsin a 90° position with respect to one another.

A disadvantage of such two-line laser devices comprising a lens elementfor expanding the laser beam is, inter alia, the restricted useableangular range of the expanded laser beam of typically 60° to 120°, as aresult of which only one laser cross with a single point of intersectionbetween the two projected laser lines can be generated, and a furtherdisadvantage is the great decrease in brightness of the laser line thatcan be generated toward the outer regions.

Alternatively, rotational laser devices are also commercially available,wherein a laser beam is deflected by 90° by a rapidly rotatingdeflection element and the optical illusion of a continuous laser lineis thus generated by the laser beam rotating with the rotatingdeflection element. By combining two rotational laser units arranged atan angle of 90° in one device, it is thus possible to project twomutually perpendicular laser lines onto walls or objects, for example.

Disadvantages of such rotational laser devices include, inter alia, thecomplex mechanical construction and the high production costs associatedtherewith, and also the large, heavy design of such laser devices.Further disadvantages of such devices include energy consumption andwear and also the limited reliability of said devices over the lifetime.

It is an object of the present disclosure to overcome the disadvantagesof the prior art and, in particular, to provide a self-levelingmulti-line laser device which can project laser lines over a largeangular range of at least 180° in conjunction with a small design,favorable production costs and without rotating parts.

SUMMARY

This object is achieved by the self-leveling multi-line laser device setforth below.

Preferred embodiments are also set forth below.

The disclosure specifies a self-leveling multi-line laser devicecomprising at least two laser beams and at least two reflective cones,wherein the cone axes of the reflective cones are perpendicular to oneanother and each of the laser beams can be directed—preferablyexcentrically—parallel to the axis of one of the reflective conesagainst the vertex of said reflective cone, as a result of which atleast two projectable laser lines can be generated.

One advantage of the disclosure consists in the possibility ofproviding, for example, two mutually perpendicular laser lines havinghigh positional accuracy, which have better visibility in conjunctionwith a relatively uniform brightness distribution over this largeangular range with the emitted laser energy being utilized as completelyas possible. Moreover, it is possible as a further advantage, on accountof the large angular coverage of the laser line of at least 180°, toproduce two points of intersection (or marking crosses) of theprojectable laser lines in a “180° position” with respect to one anotherfor example on walls lying opposite one another. A further advantage ofthe construction according to the disclosure is that the laser energy isdistributed effectively substantially only over the desired angularrange—and not over 360° as in the case of the rotational lasers usedhitherto in said angular range. Moreover, the construction according tothe disclosure allows the particularly advantageous use of laser beamsources having non-round beam cross sections, such as, for example, ofthe particularly economical, reliable and cost-effective laser diodes,wherein a very uniform brightness distribution of the laser lines thatcan be generated can be obtained in this case. By virtue of theconstruction according to the disclosure, the complex, expensive andheavy rotational laser devices can be replaced in many applications.

In one preferred embodiment of the disclosure, the reflective cones canhave at least partial areas of a lateral surface of a right circularcone having a cone aperture angle of 90°. It is thereby possible toensure that a parallel-directed laser beam that is incident parallel tothe cone axis of the cone partial area is expanded exactly in a plane.The use of such cone partial areas instead of a complete cone makes itpossible to save material and structural space.

In a further preferred embodiment of the disclosure, at least one of thereflective cones can have non-reflective partial areas. Thus, it may bedesired, for example, for a sector of the cone to be blackened, mattedor not reflectively coated, in order thus to limit the laser line thatcan be generated in the angular range for example to 180° or 200° or240° or some other value and to prevent “spurious light” and undesiredreflections.

In a further preferred embodiment of the disclosure, it is possible thatat least one laser beam can be generated by a laser diode as laser beamsource and can preferably be collimated by at least one collimatingoptical element, in particular a collimator lens. The use of laserdiodes as laser beam sources allows particularly cost-effectiveproduction and also a more compact design of the multi-line laserdevice. In this case, by means of the collimating optical element, thedivergent laser beam as emitted by laser diodes can be collimated, thatis to say directed parallel, as a result of which a more exactprojection geometry and hence a more exact laser line can be obtainedusing a right circular cone.

In a further preferred embodiment of the disclosure, it is possible thata laser beam having an elliptical beam cross section can be generated bythe laser diode, wherein the center axis of the elliptical beam crosssection has a parallel offset relative to the cone axis and is spacedapart from the cone axis in the direction of the short semiaxes of theelliptical beam cross section and, preferably, the distance between thecenter axis of the elliptical beam cross section and the cone axis isless than or equal to, in particular less than, the length of the shortsemiaxes of the elliptical beam cross section. It is thereby possible toobtain a particularly high brightness and uniform brightnessdistribution over an angular range of more than 180°. In a furtherpreferred embodiment of the disclosure, a diaphragm can also be arrangedin the beam path of the laser diode. It is thereby possible to balancethe brightness distribution of the projectable laser line and to avoid“spurious light” that could pass through the reflective cone withoutbeing reflected. In a further preferred embodiment of the disclosure, itis possible that at least two laser beams can preferably be coupled outfrom a laser beam source, preferably from a laser diode, by means ofbeam splitting by a partly reflective optical element. This can beachieved in the simplest case by means of a partly transmissive mirrorarranged at an angle of 45° with respect to the laser beam to be split.Alternatively, for example partially reflectively coated elements,prisms or intermittently operating, for example mechanical orelectro-optical elements could be employed for beam splitting. It isthereby possible to save a laser beam source. This is advantageousparticularly if, for example, a green laser line is intended to beprovided by the multi-line laser device, since laser beam sources thatemit in the green spectral range currently are still relativelyexpensive. In a further preferred embodiment of the disclosure, theuseable angular range of the laser line emitted from the reflective coneis at least 180° (see angle 20 of FIG. 4), preferably greater than 200°,in particular greater than 200° in the horizontal plane (see angle 21 ofFIG. 4) and greater than 240° in the vertical plane (see angle 22 ofFIG. 4). It is thereby possible to provide laser lines which cover morethan a semicircle and intersect at two points, in which case areas ofapplication can additionally be opened up. By way of example, in thecase of an angular range of more than 240° in the vertical plane innumerous applications including when the multi-line laser device ismounted on a stand, it is possible to provide a usually complete plumbline on a wall, said plumb line extending from the ceiling to the floor.

In a further preferred embodiment of the disclosure, it is possible thatan optical system carrier, on and/or in which the laser beam source(s),the collimating optical element(s) and the reflective cones can bemounted, is alignable—preferably self-aligning—in a gravitational field,as a result of which the laser beams and cone axes are alignable in thedirection of the gravitational vector or perpendicularly thereto. Such aconstruction makes it possible to provide horizontal and vertical laserlines particularly expediently and exactly.

In a further preferred embodiment of the disclosure, the self-levelingmulti-line laser device can have a third reflective cone or a thirddevice for laser beam expansion, in particular a cylindrical lens or adiffractive optical element (DOE) for generating a further, preferablyvertical, laser line, preferably perpendicular to the two other laserlines. It is thus conceivable, for example, by means of extension by athird laser beam and third reflective cone, to generate a third laserline, which spans a third spatial plane and is perpendicular to the twoother laser lines. Furthermore, it is particularly advantageouslypossible to expand a laser beam by means of a cylindrical lens or adiffractive optical element (DOE) in a third spatial plane and thus togenerate a third laser line perpendicular to the two other laser lines,wherein such an embodiment can be realized in a particularlyspace-saving and cost-effective manner.

In a further preferred embodiment of the disclosure, it is possible thatthe laser beam source(s), the collimating optical element(s) and thereflective cones can be mounted on and/or in an optical system carrier,wherein the optical system carrier is embodied in self-leveling fashionand is preferably suspended in oscillating fashion on preferably twomutually perpendicular bearing axes aligned substantially horizontallyin an operating state. A self-leveling capability of the multi-linelaser device can thereby be achieved in a particularly advantageousmanner.

In a further preferred embodiment of the disclosure, the optical systemcarrier can have a vibration damping arrangement, preferably a magneticdamping arrangement, in particular an eddy-current damping arrangement.Such a vibration damping arrangement makes it possible to considerablyimprove the settling duration and the achievable setting accuracy of thelaser lines, and thereby to increase practical benefits and efficiencyduring use in practice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

With reference to the drawings, the disclosure is explained thoroughlybelow by way of example on the basis of an exemplary embodiment. Thedescription, the associated figures and the claims contain numerousfeatures in combination. A person skilled in the art will also considerthese features, in particular also the features of different exemplaryembodiments, individually and combine them to form expedient furthercombinations.

In the figures:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of the optical system carrier of one embodimentof the self-leveling multi-line laser device with incorporated lasermodules (comprising, inter alia, laser diode and collimator lenses) andprojection cones (reflective cones), and also with cardanic suspensionand an eddy-current damping arrangement,

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the article in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the self-leveling multi-line laserdevice—incorporated into a housing—of the embodiment in FIG. 1 withillustrated laser light planes,

FIG. 4 shows an oblique of the self-leveling multi-line laserdevice—incorporated into a housing—of the embodiment in FIG. 1 withillustrated laser light planes,

FIG. 5 shows a schematic illustration of the beam position of theelliptical laser beam from the projection cone (reflective cone),

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the optical system carrier of asecond embodiment of the self-leveling multi-line laser device withincorporated laser modules (comprising, inter alia, laser diode andcollimator lenses) and projection cones (reflective cones), and alsowith cardanic suspension and an eddy-current damping arrangement,

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the optical system carrier of a thirdembodiment of the self-leveling multi-line laser device withincorporated laser modules (comprising, inter alia, laser diode andcollimator lenses) and projection cones (reflective cones), and alsowith cardanic suspension and an eddy-current damping arrangement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The illustrations in FIGS. 1 and 2 show the basic construction of thecentral optical and mechanical components of one embodiment of theself-leveling multi-line laser device. The latter comprises an opticalsystem carrier 1, which preferably substantially consists of a metallicdie-cast alloy (preferably aluminum or zinc die-cast alloy) and carriesthe essential optical elements, which are explained below. Said opticalsystem carrier 1 is suspended in oscillating fashion in a frame element2, which is connected to a device housing (illustrated only in FIGS. 3and 4 with reference symbol 3).

The oscillating suspension of the optical system carrier 1 is effectedby means of a universal joint with ball bearings 4, wherein the twomutually perpendicular bearing axes are not arranged in one plane, butrather in a vertically offset fashion, as a result of which only oneball bearing is required per axis of rotation and alignment problems andstrains in the bearing axes, such as could occur on account ofmanufacturing tolerances when using two ball bearings, are avoided. As aresult of this construction, the optical system carrier 1 can oscillatefreely about two axes and be aligned in Earth's gravitational field.

In order to considerably shorten the settling duration of the opticalsystem carrier 1 suspended in oscillating fashion and —within the scopeof what is technically possible—as frictionlessly as possible, withoutreducing the setting accuracy of the end position of the optical systemcarrier 1 in the gravitational field, the optical system carrier 1 inthe exemplary embodiment illustrated here has an eddy-current dampingarrangement according to the principle of Waltenhof's pendulum. For thispurpose, a copper block 5 is fitted to the lower, free end of theoptical system carrier 1 suspended in oscillating fashion, wherein thecopper block 5 moves in the case of an oscillating movement at a smalldistance contactlessly above a permanent magnet 6, which is fixedlyconnected to the housing 3. Said permanent magnet 6 advantageouslycomprises a plurality of individual magnet elements (in this case: four)having preferably an alternating magnetic field orientation and isoptimized to the effect that the magnetic field lines pass with ahighest possible magnetic field density and greatest possible magneticfield strength gradient through the copper block 5 and generate there,via electromagnetic induction, a magnetic field directed oppositely tothe field of the permanent magnet 6; this induced magnetic field greatlydamps the oscillating movement of the optical system carrier 1, butwithout influencing the end position of the optical system carrier 1,since the damping according to the magnetic eddy-current principle isproportional to the speed of the relative movement between permanentmagnet 6 and copper block 5 and therefore does not apply in the staticcase after the damping of the movement of the optical system carrier 1.

In this way, the damping can be optimized and set, for example,virtually to the “aperiodic limiting case”. By means of the eddy-currentdamping arrangement, the optical system carrier 1 is set after theinstallation of the multi-line laser device or after an impact againstthe multi-line laser device within a short time of typically from 0.5 to5 seconds with a high accuracy of e.g. a few tenths of a millimeter permeter in Earth's gravitational field. In order to adjust the precisealignment of the optical system carrier 1 in Earth's magnetic field, theoptical system carrier can have, in the vicinity of the copper block,two tare screws (e.g. grub screws; not illustrated), which form anglesof preferably 90° with respect to one another and with respect to thecentroid line at the optical system carrier 1—and preferably angles of0° and 90°, respectively, with respect to the alignment of thehorizontal laser beam—and by means of the scoop-in depth of which thecentroid position of the optical system carrier 1 and, as a resultthereof, the exact alignment of the laser lines can be slightlycorrected.

Furthermore, the permanent magnet 6, which has a larger diameter thanthe copper block 5, has at the outer circumference thereof a radial stop(not illustrated) for said copper block 5, as a result of which theoscillating movement of the optical system carrier 1 (and hence theself-leveling range of the self-leveling multi-line laser device) can bedelimited for example to a specific value (for example in the range offrom 5° to 15°, typically to a maximum of 5° or 8°). It is therebypossible to prevent the optical system carrier 1 or the componentsconnected thereto from striking against the housing 3 and overstretchingfor example of the (highly flexible and flexurally slack, but extremelythin and tension-sensitive) electrical supply cables (not illustrated)for the laser beam sources 7, 8 for example in the case of very obliqueinstallation of the multi-line laser device, during operation or duringtransport. On contact between the copper block 5 and the radial stop ofthe permanent magnet 6, an electrical contact in a monitoring circuitcan be closed and the user can thus be warned of an incorrectly leveledsystem, e.g. by means of a visual or acoustic signal and/or by means ofperiodic blanking (flashing) of the laser beam sources 7, 8.

In a first exemplary embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 1, the opticalconstruction of the self-leveling multi-line laser device has, inprinciple, a vertical laser beam source 7, which is preferably fitted tothe optical system carrier 1 near the centroid line and parallel theretoand directs a laser beam from below against the vertex of a mirror cone(or reflective cone) 9 fitted there above to the optical system carrier1, as a result of which the laser beam 13 is deflected and expanded in ahorizontal partial plane, and also a horizontal laser beam source 8,which is fitted perpendicularly to the centroid line of the opticalsystem carrier 1 and directs a laser beam against the vertex of a mirrorcone (or reflective cone) 10 fixed on a horizontal cantilever 11, as aresult of which the laser beam 12 is deflected and expanded in avertical partial plane, wherein the partial planes of the two expandedlaser beams form exactly an angle of 90° with respect to one another(see FIG. 1, in particular). In this case, the axes of the reflectivecones are also perpendicular to one another; moreover, advantageously—asin this exemplary embodiment—the axes of the reflective cones intersectat a point. In another embodiment, the self-leveling multi-line laserdevice can have a third mirror cone (or reflective cone) 23 forgenerating a further, vertical, laser line, perpendicular to two otherlaser lines.

In a second, alternative exemplary embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 6,the self-leveling multi-line laser device has—instead of two laser beamsources 7, 8—only a single laser beam source 8 (here the horizontallaser beam source 8), which emits a horizontal laser beam. Said laserbeam impinges on a partly transmissive mirror 14, which is arranged atthe point of intersection of the axes of the two reflective cones 9, 10and forms angles of 45° in each case with respect to said axes, whereinthe angle bisector between the axes of the two reflective cones 9, 10and a line perpendicular to the axes of the two reflective cones 9, 10at the point of intersection of said axes define the plane of thereflective surface of the partly transmissive mirror 14. However, it islikewise conceivable to displace the partly transmissive mirror 14 in aparallel fashion relative to the above-described position, in orderthereby to configure the illumination geometry of the reflective cones9, 10 differently and thus to influence the orientation and angularrange of the expanded laser line. As a result of this arrangement of thepartly transmissive mirror 14, the laser beam of the horizontal laserbeam source is split into two mutually perpendicular partial laserbeams—a horizontal, non-deflected partial laser beam and a verticalpartial laser beam reflected at the partly transmissive mirror14—directed parallel to the axis of in each case one of the tworeflective cones against the vertex of said reflective cone 9, 10, as aresult of which in turn two projectable laser lines 12, 13 can begenerated. In one embodiment, at least one of the reflective cones 10can have non-reflective partial areas 17.

In the same way it is possible to operate the self-leveling multi-linelaser device in a different embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 7, only witha vertical laser beam source 7 and to split the vertical laser beamgenerated thereby, by means of a partly transmissive mirror 14, into twopartial laser beams—a vertical, non-deflected partial laser beam and ahorizontal partial laser beam reflected at the partly transmissivemirror 14—directed parallel to the axis of in each case one of the tworeflective cones against the vertex of said reflective cone 9, 10, as aresult of which likewise two projectable laser lines 12, 13 can begenerated.

The laser beam sources 7, 8 used are inexpensive “low-power” laserdiodes that generate elliptically divergent light cones inherently, i.e.on account of the physical origination principle. Said light cones aredirected in a parallel manner by means of collimator lenses 18. Sincethe alignment between laser diode and collimator lens 18 is accordedsignificant importance, it is advantageous from standpoints ofproduction engineering and costs to combine laser diode and collimatorlens 18 to form a laser module 7, 8 as an assembly, which already emit aparallel-directed, elliptical beam bundle, and thus to incorporatethem—as a prefabricated laser module 7, 8—into the optical systemcarrier 1.

These elliptical parallel beams of a laser module 7, 8 are directedexcentrically in the axial direction against the vertex of one of themirror cones 9, 10, which has the form of a right circular cone havingan aperture angle of 90° (i.e. the center axis of the laser beam has aparallel offset relative to the cone axis), wherein chiefly one conehalf (of those arising in the case of a conic section that contains thecone axis, that is to say is symmetrical) is illuminated. By virtue ofthe reflectively coated lateral surface of the reflective cone that isinclined at an angle of 45° with respect to the laser beam, the laserbeam is deflected by reflection on the illuminated cone half at an angleof 90° and thus generates—instead of a full circle plane such as wouldarise in the case of central illumination of the cone on account of therotational symmetry of the cone—approximately a 180° laser line orhalf-plane. In this case, the mirror cones are each mounted in such away that at least the illuminated cone portion is situated freely andthe emission of the laser light in the emission plane is not impeded.

Preferably, but not—as described above—exclusively, one cone half isilluminated with the laser beam. The collimated laser light of the laserdiode generates, as already mentioned, a laser beam having an ellipticalbeam cross section 14. As can be seen from FIG. 5, this laser beam isthen preferably directed against the vertex 15 of the mirror cone 9, 10in such a way that although the center axis 16 of the elliptical laserbeam is aligned parallel to the cone axis, it does not coincide with thelatter (that is to say illuminates the cone 9, 10 excentrically), thecone axis 15 therefore intersecting the short semiaxis k of theelliptical beam cross section 14. In this case, the center axis of theelliptical beam cross section 14 has a parallel offset relative to thecone axis 15 and is spaced apart from the cone axis 15 in the directionof the short semiaxes k, of the elliptical beam cross section 14,wherein this distance between the center axis 16 of the elliptical beamcross section 14 and the cone axis 15 in this exemplary embodiment is atleast somewhat smaller than the length of the short semiaxes k of theelliptical beam cross section 14. This ensures that one cone half isilluminated with the main part of the laser energy and thus generates aparticularly bright and uniform projectable laser line 12, 13, while theother cone half is illuminated only to a lesser extent. However, since asmaller proportion of the laser beam reaches across onto this other conehalf, it is possible to generate a projectable laser line 12, 13 whichextends over an angular range of more than 180° and still has a useablebrightness in the 180° position. The offset can be optimized in such amanner that the projectable laser line 12, 13 has a high and largelyuniform brightness distribution over an angular range of more than 180°,wherein the ellipticity of the laser beams emitted by the laser diodescan advantageously be utilized. The large angular range of more than180° covered by the laser line 12, 13 makes it possible to expand thetwo laser beams in a plane to such a great extent that they generate twointersection points (or marking crosses) of the laser lines in the “180°position” with respect to one another for example on walls lyingopposite one another (see FIG. 4).

In principle, there is a relationship between the power of the laserdiode of a specific design and the ellipticity of the emitted laser beam14; thus, in particular, laser beams from laser diodes with low powerhave particularly highly oblate-elliptical beam cross sections. It maytherefore be advantageous, particularly in the case of such laserdiodes, to mask the beam slightly in the marginal regions, such that,for example, the outermost marginal regions are trimmed in the directionof the long semiaxis and a beam cross-section that is less highlyelliptical thus arises. As a result, by way of example, it is possibleto balance the brightness distribution of the projectable laser line 12,13 for example over an angular range of 180° even better and, inaddition, to prevent marginal regions of the elliptical laser beam 14from passing the reflective cone without being reflected, and fromproducing disturbing reflections and light figures or from bringingabout dangerous dazzling of persons. Such a masking could be performed,for example, by means of an elliptical diaphragm 19, a diaphragm in theshape of a circle sector, or a diaphragm shaped in some other way, whichis arranged in the beam path of the laser diode upstream or downstreamof the collimator lens. The shape of such a diaphragm 19 can also beadapted in a manner and optimized to an effect such that the brightnessdistribution of the laser line 12, 13 over the desired angular range(for example) 180° is virtually completely balanced, in which case sucha diaphragm 19 would only have to mask relatively small marginal regionsof the laser beam and would thus reduce the useable power of the laserdiode only to a small extent.

The device housing 3 (see FIG. 4) preferably substantially consists of apolymeric material or a for example fiber-armored polymer compositematerial (e.g. fiber-reinforced thermosetting plastic or thermoplastic).The device housing 3 surrounds the above-described mechanical andoptical arrangement and protects the latter against mechanical damageand reduces the risk of contaminants (see FIG. 3). The device housing 3has an opening, through which the horizontal laser beam 13 can emergeand the horizontal cantilever 11 of the optical system carrier 1projects toward the outside, such that the latter does not impair themobility of the optical system carrier 1 and the cone 10 fixed to thehorizontal cantilever can be positioned outside the housing.

Alternatively, an optical neutral protective dome composed oftransparent, impact-resistant plastic, for example, that does notdistort the beam path of the fanned-out laser beams can also be providedabove the open housing portion.

Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiment illustrated here, the housing 3also accommodates two batteries or rechargeable batteries for powersupply (not illustrated), actuating elements (not illustrated),preferably membrane switches for the joint and separate switching of thetwo laser beam sources, and also an electronic circuit (notillustrated), for the operation of the laser beam sources. The powersupply of the laser beam sources from the electronic circuit mounted inthe housing 3 to the laser diodes 7 suspended in oscillating fashion inthe optical system carrier 1 is effected by means of very thin, highlyflexible and flexurally slack electrical supply cables (notillustrated), that are led closely past the suspension point of theoptical system carrier 1, in order to impair the oscillation of theoptical system carrier 1 in the gravitational field and the levelingaccuracy as little as possible.

The disclosure is not limited by concrete embodiments, and features ofdifferent embodiments can be combined freely with one another. Terms inthe application which describe the position of different components withrespect to one another, such as “exactly 90°” or “perpendicular to oneanother”, “on a line”, “within the optical plane” or the like candescribe the desired ideal position/situation and include the fact that,on account of the mechanical/optical configuration, certain deviationsand inaccuracies can arise which are concomitantly encompassed by theteaching. In the case of range indications, not only the end valuesindicated but also all values in-between and partial ranges containedtherein are concomitantly encompassed by the teaching. Insofar as thisapplication talks of a laser line or projectable laser line, this istaken to mean the geometrical figure that arises when the laser beamexpanded by the reflection at the cone in a plane is incident on aplanar object and generates a laser light line there in the projection.

1. A self-leveling multi-line laser device comprising: three laser beamsgenerated by at least one laser beam source; and three reflective cones,wherein cone axes of the reflective cones are perpendicular to oneanother and each of the laser beams is configured to be directedparallel to the axis of a respective reflective cone of the threereflective cones against the vertex of said respective reflective cone,as a result of which three projectable laser lines are generated.
 2. Theself-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, wherein thereflective cones have at least partial areas of a lateral surface of aright circular cone having a cone aperture angle of 90°.
 3. Theself-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, wherein atleast one of the three reflective cones has non-reflective partialareas.
 4. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim1, wherein at least one laser beam of the three laser beams is generatedby a laser diode as the laser beam source and is configured to becollimated by at least one of a collimating optical element and acollimator lens.
 5. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimedin claim 4, wherein: at least one laser beam of the three laser beamsincludes an elliptical beam cross section generated by the laser diode,the center axis of the elliptical beam cross section has a paralleloffset relative to the cone axis and is spaced apart from the cone axisin the direction of the short semiaxes of the elliptical beam crosssection, and the distance between the center axis of the elliptical beamcross section and the cone axis is less than the length of the shortsemiaxes of the elliptical beam cross section.
 6. The self-levelingmulti-line laser device as claimed in claim 3, further comprising adiaphragm arranged in the beam path of the laser diode.
 7. Theself-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising: a partly reflective optical element configured to couple outthe three laser beams from the laser beam source by beam splitting. 8.The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 7,wherein: the partly reflective optical element is a partly transmissivemirror, and the partly transmissive mirror in each case forms angles of45° with the axes of the reflective cones and is arranged at the pointof intersection of the axes of the three reflective cones.
 9. Theself-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising: a beam splitter, which in each case forms angles at 45° withthe axes of the reflective cones and is arranged at a point ofintersection of the axes of the three reflective cones, the laser beamsource generates a source laser beam that the beam splitter isconfigured to split into three mutually perpendicular partial laserbeams to form the three laser beams.
 10. The self-leveling multi-linelaser device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a useable angular range ofthe projectable laser lines emitted from the reflective cones is atleast 180° in the horizontal plane and greater than 240° in the verticalplane.
 11. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim4, further comprising: an optical system carrier, on and/or in which theat least one laser beam source, the collimating optical element, and thethree reflective cones are mounted, wherein the optical system carrieris alignable in a gravitational field, as a result of which the laserbeams and cone axes are alignable in the direction of the gravitationalvector or perpendicularly thereto.
 12. (canceled)
 13. The self-levelingmulti-line laser device as claimed in claim 4, further comprising: anoptical system carrier, on and/or in which the at least one laser beamsource, the collimating optical element, and the three reflective conesare mounted, wherein the optical system carrier is embodied inself-leveling fashion and is suspended in oscillating fashion on twomutually perpendicular bearing axes aligned substantially horizontallyin an operating state.
 14. The self-leveling multi-line laser device asclaimed in claim 11, wherein the optical system carrier includes one ofa vibration damping arrangement, a magnetic damping arrangement, and aneddy-current damping arrangement. 15-19. (canceled)
 20. A self-levelingmulti-line laser device comprising: three laser diodes, each of which isconfigured to generate a laser beam; and three reflective cones, whereincone axes of the reflective cones are perpendicular to one another andeach of the laser beams is configured to be directed parallel to theaxis of a respective reflective cone of the three reflective conesagainst the vertex of said respective reflective cone, as a result ofwhich three projectable laser lines are generated.
 21. The self-levelingmulti-line laser device as claimed in claim 20, wherein each of thelaser beams is configured to be collimated by a collimator lens.
 22. Theself-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 20, wherein:the three laser diodes are configured to generate the laser beams suchthat the laser beams have an elliptical beam cross section, the centeraxis of the elliptical beam cross section has a parallel offset relativeto the cone axis and is spaced apart from the cone axis in the directionof the short semiaxes of the elliptical beam cross section, and thedistance between the center axis of the elliptical beam cross sectionand the cone axis is less than the length of the short semiaxes of theelliptical beam cross section.
 23. The self-leveling multi-line laserdevice as claimed in claim 21, further comprising: an optical systemcarrier, on and/or in which the three laser diodes, the collimatinglenses, and the three reflective cones are mounted, wherein the opticalsystem carrier is embodied in self-leveling fashion and is suspended inoscillating fashion on two mutually perpendicular bearing axes alignedsubstantially horizontally in an operating state, and wherein theoptical system carrier includes one of a vibration damping arrangement,a magnetic damping arrangement, and an eddy-current damping arrangement.24. A self-leveling multi-line laser device comprising: three laserdiodes, each of which is configured to generate a laser beam; and threereflective cones, wherein cone axes of the reflective cones areperpendicular to one another and each of the laser beams is configuredto be directed parallel to the axis of a respective reflective cone ofthe three reflective cones against the vertex of said respectivereflective cone, as a result of which three projectable laser lines aregenerated, and wherein each laser diode of the three laser diodes isconfigured to be jointly or separately activated.
 25. The self-levelingmulti-line laser device as claimed in claim 24, wherein each of thelaser beams is configured to be collimated by a collimator lens.
 26. Theself-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 24, wherein:the three laser diodes are configured to generate the laser beams suchthat the laser beams have an elliptical beam cross section, the centeraxis of the elliptical beam cross section has a parallel offset relativeto the cone axis and is spaced apart from the cone axis in the directionof the short semiaxes of the elliptical beam cross section, and thedistance between the center axis of the elliptical beam cross sectionand the cone axis is less than the length of the short semiaxes of theelliptical beam cross section.
 27. The self-leveling multi-line laserdevice as claimed in claim 25, further comprising: an optical systemcarrier, on and/or in which the three laser diodes, the collimatinglenses, and the three reflective cones are mounted, wherein the opticalsystem carrier is embodied in self-leveling fashion and is suspended inoscillating fashion on two mutually perpendicular bearing axes alignedsubstantially horizontally in an operating state, and wherein theoptical system carrier includes one of a vibration damping arrangement,a magnetic damping arrangement, and an eddy-current damping arrangement.28. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 24,further comprising: actuating elements configured to jointly orseparately activate the three laser diodes.
 29. A self-levelingmulti-line laser device comprising: three laser diodes, each of which isconfigured to generate a laser beam; and three reflective cones, whereincone axes of the reflective cones are perpendicular to one another andeach of the laser beams is configured to be directed parallel to theaxis of a respective reflective cone of the three reflective conesagainst the vertex of said respective reflective cone, as a result ofwhich three projectable laser lines are generated, and wherein theuseable angular range of the laser line emitted from the reflective coneis greater than 200° in the horizontal plane and greater than 240° inthe vertical plane.
 30. The self-leveling multi-line laser device asclaimed in claim 29, wherein each of the laser beams is configured to becollimated by a collimator lens.
 31. The self-leveling multi-line laserdevice as claimed in claim 29, wherein: the three laser diodes areconfigured to generate the laser beams such that the laser beams have anelliptical beam cross section, the center axis of the elliptical beamcross section has a parallel offset relative to the cone axis and isspaced apart from the cone axis in the direction of the short semiaxesof the elliptical beam cross section, and the distance between thecenter axis of the elliptical beam cross section and the cone axis isless than the length of the short semiaxes of the elliptical beam crosssection.
 32. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed inclaim 30, further comprising: an optical system carrier, on and/or inwhich the three laser diodes, the collimating lenses, and the threereflective cones are mounted, wherein the optical system carrier isembodied in self-leveling fashion and is suspended in oscillatingfashion on two mutually perpendicular bearing axes aligned substantiallyhorizontally in an operating state, and wherein the optical systemcarrier includes one of a vibration damping arrangement, a magneticdamping arrangement, and an eddy-current damping arrangement.